CTC Online Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 

CTC Online is an in-house, Web based credential lookup, renewal, and submission process for Approved Institutions and Authorized Agencies. Authorized Designees and Authorized Submitters access CTC Online through the Commission’s Home page. 

CTC Online works as a tiered system: the Appointing Authority (your Dean or Superintendent) sends a CL-896 AUTHORIZED DESIGNEE form to identify the Authorized Designees. The Designee in turn sends a CL-897 AUTHORIZED SUBMITTER form identifying the Authorized Submitters. It is the role of the Designees to select the Submitters and provide oversight while the Submitters make the online recommendations. An individual who is set as an authorized Designee can also be an Authorized Submitter but this is not automatically done and must be requested by submitting a CL-897 AUTHORIZED SUBMITTER form.

Please work with your organization’s Authorized Designee and submit a CL-897 AUTHORIZED SUBMITTER form to CTCOnline@ctc.ca.gov. 

No, an Authorized Designee is not configured to make online recommendations. It is the role of the Designee to select the Submitters and provide oversight while the Submitters make the actual recommendations.

The Appointing Authority (your organization’s Dean or Superintendent) sends a CL-896 AUTHORIZED DESIGNEE form to CTCOnline@ctc.ca.gov with their information listed in Section One.

No, your temporary password must be changed as soon as the system is accessed. On your initial login, you will be prompted to change your temporary password and create three Challenge Questions.

Yes, passwords are case sensitive. Your password must be nine characters or more in length, have a combination of upper and lower case letters, have at least one symbol, and not contain a User ID combination.

No, SEID Lookup is not part of CTC Online. SEID Lookup is available in the Credential Information Guide (CIG).

No, Designees can view all of their Organization’s recommends but are not able to edit them. Only the Authorized Submitter that created the recommend can edit it. However, a Designee can also be a Submitter and as a Submitter will be able to edit his/her recommendations.

No, these Documents move from the My Filtered Recommendations to the My Recommends page, which is the historical record of all of your recommendations and cannot be modified as they no longer have an active hyperlink.

• Select the valid Document with the latest issue date and click Upgrade a Document 
• Click on Edit and delete the Issue Date, Expiration Date and Document Term 
• Click anywhere on the screen outside of the boxes 
• Enter the new dates and credential term 

You may then complete the recommendation as usual.

The Emergency program for 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permits are only available through the “Authorized Agencies” link. Please email CTC Online if the Authorized Agencies link does not appear after you login and enter the Educator’s social security number and date of birth.

It is not necessary for an individual’s document to be valid in order to upgrade. If they have completed all the requirements to receive your agency’s recommendation, simply follow the upgrade instructions outlined in question #3 above.

If the payment has not been completed, the Authorized Submitter can go back into the application from their My Filtered Recommends page and attach the corrected information. You will NOT be able to delete previous attachments. 

If the educator has already completed the payment, the Authorized Submitter will need to email the necessary scanned documents using the Contact Credentialing form. Please include the full name of the educator in question along with their date of birth.

• Select the First Time (FT) Document Category for the new recommendation Document Type if the Educator has only been issued the Certificate of Clearance or has not held any previous credentials or permits.

• Select the New Type (NT) Document Category for the new recommendation Document Type as a previous credential or permit had been granted to the Educator. 

• A Renewal (RN) Document Category is used when the educator's unexpired Preliminary credential is recommended for an Upgrade to a Clear credential. RN is also appropriate when there is no lapse in time between the expiration date of the Document to be renewed and the Issuance Date of the new Document. 

• A Reissuance (RI) Document Category is used when the Educator’s expired preliminary credential is recommended for an Upgrade-to-a-Clear credential. The RI Document Category is also used when there is a lapse-in-time between the expiration date of the Document to be reissued and the Issuance Date of the new Document. 

You may enter an Issuance Date up to 90-days-prior to the date the recommendation is submitted through the CTC Online system as long as all requirements for the document were met by that date. Regardless of the Document Category selected (RN or RI), an upgraded document will expire the first day of the following month five-years from the Issuance Date.

The exception is for Dependent Documents. Dependent Documents require an unexpired prerequisite document. 

The Candidate Completion Date is the date the Educator completed the final requirement that qualifies him/her for the Document as determined by the approved Program for the recommending organization. Also referred to as Program Completion Date. 

For District or University Interns, the Candidate Completion Date is the date all of the intern pre-service requirements applicable for the Educator and the organization offering the commission-approved Program have been met by the candidate. 

No, you may edit any Document until the application fee is completed. To edit, click on the hyperlink in your Filtered Recommends page and select the Edit button. 

No, a change in restriction must be submitted by the intern program sponsor along with half a standard fee. This must be done through a paper application submission. 

The online system lists a specific number of selections in each section. In the upper right-hand corner of each section the number of records are displayed. If there are more records than can be displayed, the Authorized Submitter can click on the arrows to the right or left of the numbers to scroll through. Click on the Document tab to view your documents and on the Applications tab to view your applications. 

At the top of each section you will see a row of gray boxes at the top of each column that will allow you to sort your credentials. You can click on any of the arrows in these boxes to sort the records in ascending or descending order.

No, your Authorized Designee must submit a CL-897 AUTHORIZED SUBMITTER form to CTC Online to add the new approved Program Name and Authorization Codes to your existing User ID permissions. It is important that your Designee submit the CL-897 form immediately so your User ID permissions are updated prior to having your first completer.